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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes 2011-03-21SRCC Minutes (Regular) 03/21/2011 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL. MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011 AT 8:00 PM Regular Meeting: San Rafael City Council Also Present: Jim Schutz, Interim City Manager Robert F. Epstein, City Attorney Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk Members of the public may speak on Agenda items. OPEN SESSION — COUNCIL CHAMBERS — 7:00 PM Mayor Boro announced Closed Session items. CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 — 6:00 PM Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor Greg Brockbank, Vice -Mayor Damon Connolly, Councilmember Barbara Heller, Councilmember Marc Levine, Councilmember Absent: None 1. a) PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT — (Gov. Code Section 54957) Title: City Manager b) CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS (Gov. Code Section 54957.6) City designated representatives: Mayor Boro, Councilmember Connolly Unrepresented employee: City Manager Items 1. a) and 1. b) — File 9-3-11 City Attorney Robert Epstein announced that the City Council voted unanimously to appoint Nancy Mackie to the position of City Manager of the City of San Rafael, effective March 22, 2011: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None Mr. Epstein reported that the terms of the appointment were set forth in a written contract to be made available as a public record tomorrow, Tuesday, March 22, 2011; however, the law required that the City Council take a public vote on the matter of compensation. On behalf of the City Council Mayor Boro stated they were extremely pleased that Ms. Mackle agreed to serve as City Manager. A search conducted by a professional recruiting firm yielded 80 applicants, and from a final pool of twelve, six were chosen for interview, with Ms. Mackle standing out far above the other applicants. Mayor Boro stated she had done a great job for the City as Deputy City Manager and Redevelopment Agency Director and he anticipated a bright future for her. 1) Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Heller seconded, to approve the annual salary for Ms. Mackle in the amount of $186,500.00. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None 2) Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to grant Ms. Mackle an additional $5,000 per year in deferred compensation. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None CC 03-21-2011 3) Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Heller seconded, to approve the employer's payment of pension contribution. AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Levine ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None c) Conference with Labor Negotiators— Government Code Section 54957.6(a) Negotiators: Jim Schutz, Leslie Loomis, Cindy Mosser, Robert Epstein Nancy Mackle Employee Organization(s): San Rafael Fire Chief Officers' Assn. Western Council of Engineers San Rafael Firefighters' Assn. Local 1 - Confidential 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 on item 1. c) ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: 8:24 PM Moratorium on Group Homes: - File 9-1 x 13-16 x 9-3-16 x 9-3-85 Ed Duggan, San Rafael, requested that the City not approve further group homes in San Rafael with six or more inhabitants and that existing group homes with six or more occupants be abated by Code Enforcement. He also suggested raising the fine for zoning law violations. Unconstitutional Wars: - File 9-1 Rachel Bell and John Jenkel, Graton, read from material regarding unconstitutional wars. Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan: - File 13-1 Office of Emergency Services Manager Steven Hancock reported on events in San Rafael subsequent to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, 2011. He reported that since then there had been a tremendous spike in the community's interest in how they could be prepared and the communications systems in place for alerting the community. Mr. Hancock confirmed for Councilmember Heller that the TENS (Telephone Emergency Notification System) is available to San Rafael; however, the system can only be used with landline telephones. A text -based cellphone type communication system is being evaluated. Councilmember Heller commented that most of San Rafael's population aged 60 and over would probably prefer to use a land line. Councilmember Levine expressed thanks to the Office of Emergency Services' staff for the preparation undertaken and the email communication received on March 11, 2011. Mayor Boro thanked all involved. Councilmember Levine moved and Councilmember Brockbank seconded, to approve the Consent Calendar as follows: CONSENT CALENDAR: ALL MATTERS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR ARE TO BE APPROVED BY ONE MOTION, UNLESS SEPARATE ACTION IS REQUIRED ON A PARTICULAR ITEM: Approval of Minutes of City Council Meetings of February 22 and March 7, 2011 (CC) RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING ACTION: Minutes approved as submitted. CC 03-21-2011 4 10 Resolution of Appreciation to Recipient of the Richard P O'Brien and Mary Ferrario O'Brien Citizen of the Year Award (CD) — File 262 x 9-3-85 x 102 Resolution Authorizing Execution of a License Agreement for Use of City Property by Ritter Center for Temporary Art Installation, Art Houses of Marin 2011 (CS) — File 4-10-362 x 9-3-65 Monthly Investment Report for Month Ending February, 2011 (Fin) — File 8-18 x 8-9 FY 2009-2010 Single Audit Report (Fin) — File 8-9 x 9-3-20 Resolution Authorizing Entering into a Funding Agreement with the Housing Authority of Marin, Pursuant to the Affordable Housing Grant Between the City of San Rafael and the San Rafael Redevelopment Agency, for Administration and Enforcement of the City's Below Market Rate Ownership Program Between 2011-2012 and 2024-2025; Making Findings and Approvals Pursuant to the California Redevelopment Law in Connection with the Utilization of Agency Low and Moderate Income Housing Funds Outside the Central San Rafael Redevelopment Project Area (RA) — File 229 x (SRRA) R-173 x (SRRA) R-103 Resolution Authorizing Temporary Closure of Point San Pedro Road from Riviera Drive to Biscayne Drive for Marin County Marathon, Saturday, April 23, 2011 from 7:00 a.m. — 12:00 Noon (RA) — File 11-19 Resolution Authorizing Temporary Closure of Fifth Avenue from Lincoln Avenue to Lootens Place for Aids/Lifecycle Day on the Ride 2011 on Saturday, April 23, 2011 from 7:30 a.m. — 10:00 a.m. (RA) — File 11-19 RESOLUTION NO. 13118 RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION AWARDED TO CAROLYN LENERT, RECIPIENT OF THE RICHARD P. O'BRIEN AND MARY FERRARIO O'BRIEN CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR 2011 RESOLUTION NO. 13119 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR USE OF CITY PROPERTY BY RITTER CENTER FOR TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION, ART HOUSES OF MARIN 2011 Accepted Monthly Investment Report for month ending February, 2011, as presented. Accepted report. RESOLUTION NO. 13121 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ENTERING INTO A FUNDING AGREEMENT WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF MARIN, PURSUANT TO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING GRANT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AND THE SAN RAFAEL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, FOR ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE CITY'S BELOW MARKET RATE OWNERSHIP PROGRAM BETWEEN 2011-12 AND 2024-25; MAKING FINDINGS AND APPROVALS PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA REDEVELOPMENT LAW IN CONNECTION WITH THE UTILIZATION OF AGENCY LOW AND MODERATE INCOME HOUSING FUNDS OUTSIDE THE CENTRAL SAN RAFAEL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA RESOLUTION NO. 13122 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF PT. SAN PEDRO ROAD FROM RIVIERA DRIVE TO BISCAYNE DRIVE FOR MARIN COUNTY MARATHON, SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2011 FROM 7AM TO 12 NOON RESOLUTION NO. 13123 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF FIFTH AVENUE FROM LINCOLN AVENUE TO LOOTENS PLACE FOR AIDS/LIFECYCLE DAY ON THE RIDE, SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2011 FROM 7:30AM TO 10:OOAM AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None CC 03-21-2011 The following item was removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion at the request of Reuel Brady and Mary Wuerth. RESOLUTION AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR THE FREITAS PARK RENOVATIONS, PHASE 11, PROJECT NO. 10732 TO GHILOTTI BROTHERS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $167,287.00 (BASE BID AND BID ALTERNATIVE 1) (PW) — FILE 4-1-628 Reuel Bradv, President, Terra Linda Homeowners' Association accompanied by Park Enhancement Chair Mary Wuerth, supporting the award of contract, stated they had received outstanding service from Carlene McCart, Community Services Director and Nader Mansourian, Public Works Director in working with the neighborhood to complete this project, and he applauded the efforts of Kaiser who had earmarked funds for the project. Mary Wuerth reported that her small children were very excited about the anticipated installation of a new play structure at Freitas Park. Councilmember Connolly moved and Councilmember Levine seconded, to adopt the resolution: RESOLUTION NO. 13120 — RESOLUTION AWARDING A CONTRACT FOR THE FREITAS PARK RENOVATIONS PHASE 11, PROJECT NO. 10732, TO GHILOTTI BROTHERS, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $167,287.00 (BASE BID AND BID ALTERNATIVE 1) AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: 11. PRESENTATION OF RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION TO RECIPIENT OF THE RICHARD P. O'BRIEN AND MARY FERRARIO O'BRIEN CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARD (CD) — FILE 262 x 9-3-85 x 102 Mayor Boro explained that in 2001, J. Michael Mahoney established an endowment in honor of former Planning Commissioner Richard O'Brien and his wife, Mary Ferrario O'Brien, to recognize a Citizen of the Year annually, and he announced Carolyn Lenert as the recipient of this award for 2011. Mayor Boro stated that the Citizen of the Year Award acknowledges residents who through their dedicated and selfless efforts have had a significant effect on the quality of life in San Rafael and he quoted from the Resolution: "Carolyn Lenert has been selected as the recipient for 2011 because of her community involvement. She is a well known community builder and leader, providing an effective presence as a key representative in the North San Rafael Coalition and as President of the Santa Margarita Neighborhood Association. Carolyn contributed countless hours coordinating outreach, sharing resources and disseminating information to local residents on issues of community concern. Carolyn has participated in organizing and coordinating many community events, including the North San Rafael Promenade Celebration, the Open Hearts/Open Homes Fundraiser for Hospice by the Bay and the Electronics Take -Back event" and noting Ms. Lenert was also a member of the San Rafael Fire Commission, on behalf of the City Council and citizens of San Rafael, Mayor Boro offered congratulations. Expressing thanks and stating many others deserved this award, Ms. Lenert commented that each was a part of making lives better and leaving San Rafael a better place, which was her vision for San Rafael — a community working for everyone with mutual respect and collaboration. OTHER AGENDA ITEMS: 12. PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC OPINION POLLING RESULTS BY GODBE RESEARCH (CM) — FILE 4-3-435 x 9-3-11 Interim City Manager Jim Schutz reported that the City of San Rafael had been conducting biennial citizens' satisfaction surveys since 1999 and had been very satisfied with Godbe Research, who began conducting these 4 CC 03-21-2011 surveys in 2005 on behalf of the City. President Brian Godbe together with Amelia Davidson, Ph.D., Senior Research Manager would discuss the results of the survey. Mr. Schutz noted that these survey results are used throughout the year to inform the budget process, as a backdrop to the City Council's Five-year Goals and Areas of Emphasis and also as they relate to ballot measures. Mr. Schutz stated that, subsequent to a few years of budget reductions, it is important to look at how service reductions made to date were being perceived in the community, while at the same time looking at historical ratings through the years. Brian Godbe congratulated the City Council on their choice of City manager, also congratulating Ms. Mackle. He explained that Dr. Amelia Davidson, Godbe Research, would deliver the bulk of the presentation and they both could answer questions. Dr. Davidson explained that similar to previous studies, this survey covered a number of different topics. Overall perceptions of living in San Rafael were gauged, assessing voters' perceptions of City services and the performance of the City Council, evaluating perceptions of the condition of City facilities, awareness of the financial situation and gathering voters' feedback on their preferred information sources and City communications. In presenting the results, Dr. Davidson stated that differences between regions of the City would be highlighted as well as demographic differences and changes in opinion over time from the previous studies. Dr. Davidson reported that the telephone survey sampled from the roughly 28,000 registered voters in San Rafael. Data collection took place in mid-February and on average, interviews were twenty minutes long. A total of 500 voters participated in the study, which produced a margin of error of + or — 4%. She indicated that most importantly, this survey sample was representative of San Rafael's registered voter population in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and political party affiliation. Dr. Davidson explained the results: Quality of Life in San Rafael — Positive opinions outnumbered negative opinions by more than 3:1. Results indicated that voters were highly satisfied with the quality of life in San Rafael, which was consistent across areas of the City and demographic groups. 87% of voters felt safe from crime and two-thirds felt as safe at this time as they did five years ago walking City streets. Three-quarters of voters agreed that the revitalization effort in the downtown area was good for the City and that San Rafael was maintaining its unique character and hometown atmosphere, and 57% of voters indicated they had confidence in City leaders to solve difficult problems as they arose. No changes in perception of the City from the 2009 survey; however, it was found that voters in North San Rafael were more likely to report that the revitalization effort was a good thing, and expressed confidence in City leaders. Single largest problem facing the City of San Rafael — Issues related to the poor financial situation or condition of the City were the most frequently mentioned, at 17%. Next most frequently mentioned included illegal immigrants or day laborers, cost of living or housing and availability of jobs, all at 9%. Comparing these responses to previous surveys, results suggested that residents were currently more concerned with the City's financial situation and the availability of jobs, and less concerned with traffic congestion. Additional Information on Traffic — For close to two-thirds of voters, traffic in their local neighborhood remained the same over the past two years. Otherwise, 10% indicated that traffic had improved and 29% indicated it had worsened. A difference was found in ratings of traffic over time — a lower percentage of voters indicated that traffic in their local neighborhood had worsened than in all six previous surveys. More specifically, a 12 point drop was noted in worsened responses from the 2009 survey to this one. Residents of North San Rafael rated neighborhood traffic more positively. Local Taxes — Roughly half of voters felt local taxes were about right, 5% felt they were too low and 39% indicated they were too high — ratings were similar to previous surveys. Satisfaction with City Services — Citv Council — One quarter of voters did not have an opinion of how the City Council was performing its job and as such, the results suggest that many voters would benefit from additional information on the priorities and work of the City Council. Positive ratings outnumbered negative ratings by 3:1. Overall, 57% of voters indicated satisfaction, with 19% reporting dissatisfaction. Satisfaction with the City Council was particularly high among women and voters residing in San Rafael for ten years or less. CC 03-21-2011 Spending of Taxpavers' monev — Half of the voters indicated satisfaction with the job the City is doing to spend taxpayers' money, 24% were dissatisfied, 12% had mixed opinions, with 9% having no opinion. Satisfaction in this category increased significantly from the 2009 survey and approached the peak observed in the 2007 survey which found 56% satisfied. Ratings tended to be more positive among voters of South East San Rafael. More than four out of five voters indicated satisfaction with the job the City was doing to provide services as a whole. In contrast 12% reported dissatisfaction and the remaining 6% did not have an opinion. Satisfaction with overall City services was consistent with previous years, with no difference in total satisfaction across key demographic groups. Satisfaction with Specific City Services - In line with the high satisfaction with overall services, on average voters were at least somewhat satisfied with 17 of the 28 services tested in the study. Ten Services in the highest satisfaction ratings — 9 out of 10 voters were satisfied with the job the City is doing to provide Fire and Paramedic services, garbage collection and recycling services and police protection. No change in satisfaction with these services from the 2009 ratings. Ten Services placed in the second tier— 77% of voters were satisfied with the job the City is doing to enforce traffic and parking laws, with 74% satisfied with the management of traffic on City streets. Differences found from the 2009 survey — Satisfaction slightly lower with street sweeping and tree trimming and higher with the City's efforts to meet the needs of ethnic minorities and manage traffic. Eight Services placed in a third tier— Although these services placed in a third tier, satisfied voters outnumbered dissatisfied voters significantly. Even for the service testing relatively lowest in terms of satisfaction — keeping taxes at affordable levels — 60% of voters were satisfied, 31 % dissatisfied and 9% did not have an opinion. Compared to 2009, satisfaction was slightly lower with maintenance of median strips and higher for the City's efforts to provide parking downtown, as well as affordable housing. Use and Ratings of City Facilities — Facilities with the relatively highest use included City Parks at 81 %, Public Library at 74% and the San Rafael Community Center at 51 %. Use was generally consistent with previous studies; however, a higher percentage of voters reported visiting the Falkirk Cultural Center than in the 2007 study. Voters generally had a positive opinion of the condition of City facilities. Close to two-thirds rated the condition of City parks and the public library as excellent or good. Otherwise, for six of the eight facilities, roughly a third or more voters indicated they did not know the condition; however, in looking at voters having an opinion of the condition of those facilities, positive ratings of excellent or good outnumbered the fair and poor ratings by a ratio of more than 3:1. Notably, no changes in ratings from the 2009 survey and no regional differences in positive to negative ratings. Ratings and Awareness of the City's Financial Situation — Overall, 20% of voters rated the City's financial situation as excellent or good. In comparison, 28% indicated a rating of fair or poor — important to note that roughly 1 out of 4 voters did not have an opinion. Compared to previous surveys, results suggest that voters were becoming more informed of the City's financial challenges. Poor ratings close to doubled from 2009, with an accompanying decrease in good ratings. Roughly half of voters were aware that the City recently had to cut $4 million in funding to services and facilities and additionally, roughly half of voters were aware of the recent reduction in City staffing by 12%. City Communications — Although two-thirds of voters were aware that the official City website provides information on local services and events, voters were relatively less aware of other online resources, including email at 34% and Facebook and Twitter, at 15% and 10% respectively. Being a new question, no comparisons were available; however, it was found that awareness of the website was higher among voters ages 30 — 64 than those ages 65 and over; albeit even among older voters, 51 % were aware of the offerings on the City's website. Greater awareness was also found among voters with higher household incomes. Of the 334 voters aware of the website, close to two-thirds reported visiting the site sometimes, with an additional 9% indicating they visited often. Use of the website increased significantly since 2007 and higher website use was found among voters ages 40 — 49 and those with higher household incomes. CC 03-21-2011 Overall, 9 out of 10 website users reported that the site was either very or somewhat helpful. Positive ratings increased significantly from the 2009 study, more specifically, very helpful ratings doubled from 16% to 33%. Social Networking Website — Facebook most frequently mentioned at roughly 51 % with a difference in membership across ages — three-quarters of voters ages 18 — 49 were members of Facebook, and half ages 50-64. In comparison, just 19% of voters ages 65 and over were members. Preferred Information Source for Local Services and Events — Although 43% indicated a preference for a printed newsletter, 48% indicated a preference for online sources, including email, City website and to a lesser extent, Facebook. Similar to surveys in other communities, preference for a printed newsletter was higher among voters ages 65 and over, as well as voters with household incomes less than $40,000 annually. Attention to City Government Business — Approximately a third of voters indicated they pay very little attention to City government business. In comparison 19% pay a great deal of attention and 44% some. Results suggest that voters were becoming more informed on City government business. The percentage of those paying very little attention decreased from 2009 and 2007, whereas the percentage of voters paying a great deal of attention increased, with no differences between key demographic groups. Executive Summary — => Voters highly satisfied with quality of life and San Rafael remains in a top tier of satisfaction in California => Residents' concerns largely reflect current events, which had changed significantly over time, with residents being more concerned about the City's financial situation and availability of jobs and less concerned regarding traffic congestion => Residents continued to be highly satisfied with City services as a whole, as well as the performance of City Council => High satisfaction with a wide range of City services, with a few changes from 2009: • Satisfaction increased with the City's efforts to manage traffic, provide affordable housing, provide sufficient parking downtown and meet the needs of ethnic minorities; • Slight drop in satisfaction with the City's efforts to provide street sweeping and maintain median strips => Overall, the high satisfaction, both with Quality of Life, as well as with specific services, suggests that voters were resilient to the recent changes in service levels => Results suggest that residents were becoming more aware of the City's financial situation; however, additional information was needed. Half of voters were aware of recent cuts in funding and staffing => Majority of residents aware of the City website and ratings were highly positive. Although half of the voters were members of social networking websites, results indicated that an overwhelming majority would prefer to receive information from the City through other sources, including a printed newsletter, email or the City's website Noting the item concerning satisfaction with the City Council indicated 26% of voters "Did not Know" or "Had no Answer", Councilmember Brockbank stated he continued to believe that this was astoundingly low - 75% appeared a lot more likely. He inquired whether in conducting the survey it was found that people were less than completely honest in discussing their familiarity with the City Council. Dr. Davidson stated she believed it depended on how satisfaction with the City Council was measured. In formulating that opinion voters consider how they feel about the City as a whole and base their satisfaction on that. In line with that, significant correlations were found between satisfaction with Quality of Life, as well as City services and opinions towards City Council. She noted a number of voters indicated they felt they did not have sufficient information to make a unique satisfaction rating of City Council and a significant percentage were basing their satisfaction on what they see the City Council performing — how well the City was maintained, etc. Councilmember Brockbank commented that perhaps although never having attended a City Council meeting or read anything about the City Council, citizens were happy with the services provided; therefore, the City Council must be doing a good job. Noting the lowest rated concerned comfort with taxes, Councilmember Brockbank inquired whether the three tax ballot measures in the past eighteen months might have contributed. Dr. Davidson explained that Godbe compared the percentage satisfied responses from 1999 through the current survey — 60%, 63%, 56%, 57%, 60%, 57% and 60% in 2011 — which demonstrated no more than a 4% difference in satisfaction with keeping taxes at affordable levels. Overall, the successful tax measures, together with the unsuccessful measure, had not significantly impacted voters' attitudes towards the affordability of local CC 03-21-2011 taxes Councilmember Levine inquired whether the voter file for municipal elections or all registered voters had been used. Dr. Davidson explained that Godbe wanted to keep participation in the survey as broad as possible; therefore, they pulled from all registered voters in San Rafael, regardless of their participation in past elections. This resulted in a variety of voters with propensity to vote low, medium and high; however, how these voting groups differed in specific questions of the survey could be provided. Welcoming this, Councilmember Levine stated it would be interesting to see whether in odd -year elections there was a different level of awareness of City issues, particularly in light of Measure G and the significant voter education carried out in 2009, and the high number of citizens who did not believe there was a problem with Fire Department infrastructure. Mr. Godbe explained that going back to the initial survey the sample had been of all voters. In the years in which Godbe had been involved where there was a revenue measure being discussed — 2005, 2007 and 2009, all voters were sampled, with slight variations. With statistical techniques they were able to increase the off-year number of voters while still looking at all voters so they were comparable across all surveys; however, when drilling down on the revenue measures, off-year elections could be looked at with much more accuracy. He recalled that the 2009 final survey, using this methodology, resulted in 61 % for the bond measure. Mr. Godbe commented that those satisfied with the level of taxes overall, was the same 60%; therefore, he believed a base of almost two-thirds of the population was happy with the tax rates, which accounted for the success of new or renewals of tax measures. Looking back to the early 2009 and 2007 surveys, he stated there always had been a lack of awareness of facilities, particularly the condition of the fire station downtown. Regarding the result demonstrating that voters with incomes under $40,000 preferred paper, Councilmember Levine inquired whether this was consistent with other cities. Dr. Davidson reported that where access to the internet and online sources are measured, typically a gap is observed among lower income households. Pleased with the positive results and also noting the need for improvement in certain areas, Councilmember Connolly inquired whether the variation year over year was accounted for by the fact that at times the overall economy was better or worse or people's perception of government in general could be different. Dr. Davidson explained that for the problems facing San Rafael, this tended to very closely parallel current events, such as the economy and availability of jobs. The fact that San Rafael had held so steady in terms of satisfaction with overall City services, the direction of San Rafael and also ratings of City Council performance suggested that voters were resilient in their local attitudes to what was happening in the external world. She noted several changes in satisfaction made sense and paralleled changes in service levels, such as tree trimming, street sweeping and median strip maintenance. With regard to the increase in satisfaction with traffic issues and management of traffic, she noted City staff was currently formulating what could have potentially impacted those issues — highway construction completed, easing of access to freeway, etc. Dr. Davidson stated that some of the changes in satisfaction appeared very reasonable and traced changes in service levels, while others had to be pieced together, which resulted in the murky attitude in the voter's mind. Mayor Boro requested an analysis of the satisfaction of traffic by the North, Central and Southern parts of San Rafael since Highway 101 improvements took place in all three locations. Dr. Davidson reported that North San Rafael tended to rate their neighborhood traffic most positively. Mayor Boro invited Dr. Davidson to put in perspective the quote from the Executive Summary "San Rafael residents are highly satisfied with the Quality of Life and the City ranks among the highest satisfaction scores in California to date." Noting an approximate 4% error rate in all surveys, Mr. Godbe reported that from a pure statistical perspective, San Rafael was one of the highest scoring. More importantly, he noted ratings in the 90 percentile split between the Very Satisfied and Somewhat Satisfied and San Rafael was among the higher ratios. He commented that the focus should be on increasing the Very Satisfied rather than the total score. CC 03-21-2011 Mayor Boro thanked Mr. Godbe and Dr. Davidson for the report. 13. DISCUSSION OF PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR 2011-2012 (CM/FIN) — FILE 8-5 City Manager Nancy Mackle reported that she and Interim City Manager Jim Schutz had been working closely with Finance Director Cindy Mosser on the budget report. Looking back to 2007, she explained that the General Fund operating revenues went from $59 million in 2007/2008 to $52.4. The Transactions and Use Tax — Measure S - realized $7.3 million in 2007/2008, currently down to $5.8 million. While maintaining services, this revenue source was declining, together with overall sales tax, which was down to $14.8 million from the 2007/2008 figure of $18.4 million. On the Expenditure side, Ms. Mackle reported a reduction of 50 positions, purchases had been deferred, staff had been furloughed for two years, and the City Council had followed a Recession Action Plan and took a lot of actions looking at all revenues and expenditures in an effort to tackle the situation. Being a service, people - based organization, the bulk of expenditures related to people — salaries and benefits. Ms. Mackle explained that, even with reductions in staff, labor contracts needed to be honored, healthcare costs were rising and due to the poor economy, pension costs rose, and while action was taken with Pension Obligation Bonds, this was a short-term fix. She stated the bottom line was that costs continued to climb, especially pension costs, yet revenues continued to stay down relative to a few years ago. While a lot of actions were taken, more were needed, because of the reliance on some one-time fixes -- structural changes were now needed. Ms. Mackle stated that this evening's report was informational only with the message that San Rafael was not immune from the economic recession -- Marin County and most other cities faced a similar situation. Commenting that the result of the Citizens' Satisfaction Survey was a good report card on the City Council's leadership, she indicated it also was a testament to the efforts of City staff. Revenue Assumptions - Explaining that the preliminary General Fund operating revenue estimate for 2011-2012 was $52.9 million, Ms. Mosser reported that staff used information based on the State Board of Equalization's estimates, also including new auto dealers and closure of businesses: • Sales Tax — Additional $700,000 — 6.3% increase • Property Tax — $77,000 decrease • Declines in vehicle code and red light camera fines - $170,000 • No state "take-aways" included — state budget not yet approved • Cost Study Update not included Departmental revenue assumptions currently being adjusted Expenditure Assumptions — ✓ No Wage or Salary increases included ✓ 12.5% health insurance increase for management and mid -management, hired prior to January 1, 2009 ✓ Blended rate for 2011-2012 - 50.01 % - currently 46% ✓ No cost of living increases for supplies and services — 2007-2008 level remains, with the exception of Animal Control, Audit, etc. ✓ One-time items added back • Vehicle Replacement Charges - $290,000 • Marinwood Community Services District - $300,000 • Non -safety Furlough - $450,000 • One-time Police temporary assistance - $200,000 • Reserves - $500,000 Referring to Exhibit 1 - $4.370,000 Deficit - Ms. Mosser explained that by including any of the one-time savings used in the past, the deficit would be reduced. Mayor Boro clarified that the term "added back in" indicated that funds for that operation were not included. With regard to the County not being able to provide an accurate breakdown of red light camera fines, Ms. CC 03-21-2011 Mosser explained that Marin County is unable to separate out red light camera fines from all vehicle code fines. Mr. Epstein noted that the portion of the fine received by the City is a fraction of the total fine and it was disappointing that figures solely attributed to red light camera fines were unavailable as all fines were blended. Responding to Mayor Boro's question on whether these figures could be segregated out Ms. Mosser reported that one of the explanations she received was insufficient staff at the County to rewrite a computer program to do this. Councilmember Levine inquired whether the City had data on how many citations were issued. Ms. Mosser explained that, while data was available on citations issued, staff did not have information on how many citations were contested. Noting data had been requested by the City Council in the past on the issuance of fines, Councilmember Levine stated that perhaps this was a good time to receive this data. Ms. Mackle stated staff would investigate the issue. Ms. Mosser confirmed for Councilmember Heller that the $300,000 figure for Marinwood CSD was not included in her preliminary budget figures. Ms. Mackle confirmed that the Marinwood CSD contract was a zero cost item in the budget for 2011-2012. Next Steps — Ms. Mackle reported that staff would be working on the type of budget reductions to be proposed to the City Council to limit one-time options. Although not easy, the City Council could choose to make structural changes to have a lasting impact on the budget, absent which the situation would remain as it is currently. Noting the process would take some time, she explained that costing of items would be necessary, together with impacts on services. She, Mr. Schutz and Ms. Mosser would meet with department directors to work through this process. Ms. Mackle suggested scheduling a study session for April 4, 2011 to review the City Council's Five-year Goals and Areas of Emphasis and at the April 18, 2011 meeting staff would provide an updated forecast. A half-day retreat would be scheduled for later in April and labor negotiations would commence in April also. Ms. Mackle reported that the Target Community Impact Report meeting would be scheduled for April 20 or 21, 2011- to be confirmed. 14. RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROJECT FUNDING FOR THE YEAR 2011-2012 TO THE MARIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS (RA) — FILE 147 Economic Development Coordinator Katie Korzun reported this was the 12th year of CDBG and stated it was different from other years in that the depth of potential cuts was much greater - at the federal level there was discussion of the possibility of elimination of the program, or a 66% cut. Ms. Korzun explained that in the past in making allocations funds were allocated proportionately; however, this year projects would be prioritized. Assuming a 10% decrease from last year the estimated grant amount for housing and capital was $442,242. Of the nine requests, it was suggested that seven be funded, starting at the top, until funds were expended. • Public Facilities • Fair Housing • Rehabilitation Loan Program, • Residential Accessibility Modifications • Nova Albion House • Montecillo House • Laurel House 10 CC 03-21-2011 Mr. Bateman, County of Marin, thanked the City of San Rafael for being part of the program Councilmember Levine moved and Councilmember Heller seconded to adopt the resolution RESOLUTION NO. 13124 — RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROJECT FUNDING FOR THE YEAR 2011-2012 TO THE MARIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None CITY MANAGER'S REPORT: - FILE 9-3-11 15. Interim Citv Manager: On behalf of the City Council, Mayor Boro thanked Interim City Manager Jim Schutz for his great efforts over the past several months. Newly appointed City Manager Nancy Mackle stated it was an honor and privilege to work for Interim City Manager Jim Schutz. On behalf of the Department Directors and staff she thanked him for being a fantastic leader over the past months. Snapshot: Mr. Schutz issued a reminder that the City Manager's regular email, Snapshot, which keeps residents informed of activities taking place in San Rafael, could be found at www.citvofsanrafael.ora/snapshot and on the website home page. Citv Manaqer/Interim Citv Manaqer: As this evening was his last City Council meeting as Interim City Manager, Mr. Schutz stated he believed the City Council made an excellent choice, and congratulating Ms. Mackle he expressed thanks to the City Council for having had the confidence in him to invite him to serve through the interim period. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS / REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: (including AB 1234 Reports on Meetings and Conferences Attended at City Expense) 16. Citv Manager / Interim Citv Manager: - 9-3-11 x 9-1 Having received comments from citizens on how great it had been working with Mr. Schutz during this interim period, Councilmember Levine stated he also had enjoyed working with Mr. Schutz. Believing Nancy Mackle was the best person for the City Manager position he stated he looked forward to working with her. Councilmember Connolly stated he looked forward to continuing to work with Mr. Schutz, and welcoming Nancy Mackle to her new position he commented that she rose to the top in a very rigorous recruiting process. Councilmember Brockbank stated that both Ms. Mackle and Mr. Schutz had demonstrated extremely high levels of professionalism, integrity and good-natured, hard-working dedication to their jobs. Both had been requested to step up to a higher level, which he looked forward to. Councilmember Heller commended Mr. Schutz on his great work and she welcomed Ms. Mackle to her new position. Marin Enerqv Authoritv: - File 271 x 9-1 Having chaired a Marin Energy Authority Technical Committee meeting this morning, Councilmember Connolly reported that as a result of a great response to a Request for Proposal on renewable energy projects three finalists were announced with whom active negotiations would commence. This would represent upwards of 40 megawatts of new renewable energy, particularly solar, in California. New Dominican Universitv President: - File 9-1 Mayor Boro announced that today he met Mary Marcy, new President of Dominican University, who comes to San Rafael from Bard College, New York State. 11 CC 03-21-2011 There being no further business, Mayor Boro adjourned the City Council meeting at 10:30 p.m. ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk APPROVED THIS DAY _ OF 12011 ALBERT J. BORO, Mayor 12 CC 03-21-2011