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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSPCC Minutes 2010-01-26SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010 AT 7:00 PM Special Meeting: Present: Albert J. Boro, Mayor San Rafael City Council Damon Connolly, Vice -Mayor Greg Brockbank, Councilmember Barbara Heller, Councilmember Marc Levine, Councilmember Absent: None Also Present: Ken Nordhoff, City Manager Lisa Goldfien, Deputy City Attorney Esther C. Beirne, City Clerk CLOSED SESSION — CONFERENCE ROOM 201 — 6:00 PM Conference with Labor Negotiators — Government Code Section 54957.6(a) Negotiators: Jim Schutz, Leslie Loomis, Cindy Mosser, Robert Epstein, Ken Nordhoff 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 Deputy City Attorney II Lisa Goldfien announced that no reportable action was taken. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE: 7:16 PM Federal Government Funds: John Jenkel, Graton, discussed the Federal Government's freezing of non -security spending and what funds San Rafael received. Ceasefire: Colleen Fernald, Sebastopol, discussed emergency services, the National Guard in San Rafael, budget cuts and a ceasefire of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She requested cities pass resolutions on appropriations at the federal level. BUDGET UPDATE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2009-2010 AND 2010-2011 (CM/FIN) — FILE 8-5 RESOLUTION ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009- 2010, INCLUDING STAFFING REDUCTIONS THROUGH LAYOFFS AND THE ELIMINATION OF VACANT POSITIONS TO BALANCE THE FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 BUDGET, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT SAID STAFFING REDUCTIONS Indicating that he would summarize the fairly comprehensive staff report, City Manager, Ken Nordhoff, noted that Department Directors were present to answer specific questions. As noted in the staff report, Mr. Nordhoff stated the City was struggling through a recession, albeit not alone. The City Council was aware of reductions in the private sector and the City of San Rafael was not immune. Because the bulk of funds came from taxes paid by residents and businesses in the community, the City was seeing a fairly significant decline in those revenues, particularly since adoption of the budget in July, 2009, and some of the impacts were summarized in the staff report. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 2 Recalling that in November, 2009, staff defined the situation and began to work towards actions to be taken by the City Council to put the 2009-2010 budget back in balance, Mr. Nordhoff reported they also believed it important that the City Council consider taking as many actions as possible, sooner rather than later, in order to develop a budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 that would, hopefully, stay in balance moving forward. Mr. Nordhoff indicated he highlighted in the staff report that the first workshop was held on December 15, 2009 and that he requested departments to come up with 10% budget reduction scenarios, which were more than necessary to close deficits, $3.5 million in fiscal year 2009-2010 and $4.4 million projected in fiscal year 2010-2011. He also discussed the need to consider reserves and the standing policy of 10%, which if measured against today's General Fund budget, would be approximately $5.5 - $6 million; however, currently this amounted to $1.7 million. Comparing storms this week to those that occurred on December 31, 2005, he reported that in 2005, some incidents occurred where reserves needed to be used to make repairs. These funds were eventually recovered through FEMA; however, it was an illustration of how the City needed to have necessary funds available for all types of issues. Mr. Nordhoff reported that on December 21, 2009, at Council's request, staff returned with a timeline, which included public outreach and engagement, which was accepted and carried out. He noted that the City Council also requested on December 15, 2009 that staff return with a first round of recommendations and on January 4, 2010 action was taken to solve approximately half of the problem in the current and upcoming fiscal years. Mr. Nordhoff stated that included in the report was quite a lot of detail concerning actions taken in various departments to balance the budget, dating back to July, 2009, as well as some of the items Council took action on on January 4, 2010. On January 6, 2010, at Council's request, a follow-up workshop was held to provide answers to questions raised on December 15, 2009. Additionally, at Council's request, two public workshops were conducted — January 12 and 14, 2010, to which Boards and Commissioners and a variety of community members were invited. People were made aware of the situation, a recap of the financial picture was presented and an opportunity afforded to mingle with staff, obtain additional information and make comments. Mr. Nordhoff reported that a summary of comments from these outreach meetings was presented at the City Council meeting of January 19, 2010, when the City Council received a clear understanding from staff of work carried out through the community process, additional service reductions required and an update on bargaining unit concessions and labor negotiation discussions which had been an integral part of the process over the past few weeks. Noting seven City Council meetings/study sessions were held in January, 2010, Mr. Nordhoff stated that the City Council had been very diligent in trying to reach out, ask questions and listen to what people considered important. With regard to reserves, Mr. Nordhoff believed it important to begin considering that the financial situation did not seem to be looking any better 11-18 months from now than it looked today. A time would come when the City would need to start building back reserves; therefore, it was his continued recommendation that an attempt be made to do so. Referring to Exhibit A, which was generated with the assistance of Sylvia Gonzalez, Administrative Assistant, City Manager's Office, and Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager, Mr. Nordhoff identified a pie chart on page 2 with a listing of the total number of authorized budgetary positions — 445.08 in fiscal year 2007-2008. The chart identified the distribution of these employees by department and the entire organization. Referring to budgetary adjustments in Fiscal Year 2008-2009, Mr. Nordhoff noted that the chart reflected positions that had been adjusted, reassigned, reduced or eliminated. A similar distribution of what remained had been prepared, noting similar charts back to the top of page 1 leading to this evening's decision-making. Should the City Council take the actions proposed in the resolution, staff would be reduced to 390.92 authorized positions Mr. Nordhoff stated it was important to note that, as the City had been through these cycles of reduction over the last two and a half years, the sizing of the organization continued to be reduced proportionately. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 3 Although the numbers might be bigger in certain departments due to size, the ratios were not changing. Working through the five stages it was evident that largely, including tonight's recommendations, the distribution of position losses had remained fairly constant on a proportional basis. He explained that the majority of staffing reductions had occurred through attrition, early retirements and layoffs. It had not been possible to avoid layoffs in July, 2009 nor, unfortunately, was it possible this evening. Mr. Nordhoff noted he had included Attachment B, which provided more of a linear review of how the same numbers tracked over the two and a half year cycle. As mentioned previously, Mr. Nordhoff reported that staff had been in discussions regarding employee compensation — a table was attached which delineated the status a year ago, what had been done this year and items on which Statements of Intent had been received with respect to concessions for next year. He noted that Exhibit C included a listing of the various bargaining groups represented formally by labor agreements and representatives, together with elected official and unrepresented management groups. Mr. Nordhoff explained that the first column identified cost savings and budgetary savings through largely furloughing all non -safety employees and in some instances, cost savings had been achieved in safety mid -management groups in the current fiscal year, along with the deferral of some salary increases negotiated with the Firefighters' Association. With regard to fiscal year 2010-2011, Mr. Nordhoff noted that the savings related to the current Statements of Intent commitments were built into Schedule 1 worksheet. Commitments not yet received were also identified; however, these values were not included in terms of addressing the budget situation. With regard to Exhibit D, Mr. Nordhoff indicated this was a reminder to the City Council and the public that together with cost-cutting through reduced staffing or compensation concessions, staff was also actively working on a number of economic development activities. Community Development was processing Target applications, new pizzerias and bakeries downtown and re -tenanting, all of which were positive indicators; however, by no means would they eradicate budgetary shortfalls. Summarizing Schedule 1, Mr. Nordhoff explained that staff had provided a series of recommendations — Round 1 was acted on on January 4, 2010 and this evening, a combination of items was being presented for Council consideration. Referring to the $3.5 million and $4.4 million deficits, he noted the valuations of Council action on January 4, together with valuations of this evening's action. Mr. Nordhoff commented that being mid -year, some of the actions to be taken would have a partial year solution in the current fiscal year, with a full annualized value in fiscal year 2010-2011. He noted the list of recommendations did not quite reach the goal of closing the gap in 2009-2010. The $3.5 million deficit had included attempting to build back $500,000 worth of reserves and assuming the City Council still wished to do so, that action would extend into next fiscal year. Regardless of coming up short in 2009- 2010, the intention was to make this up in 2010-2011. Mr. Nordhoff summarized the listing of items presented for budgetary consideration Recouping moneys through block grant funds to deal with ADA curb ramps, which would help offset the cost of engineering services in Public Works; Upcoming furlough concessions from the various groups; and Delineating the various service reductions, some of which were contracts and vacant positions; however, the vast majority would necessitate invoking layoffs. Staffing losses had been identified, together with the associated dollars. Mr. Nordhoff believed the Resolution before the City Council went a long way to closing, albeit not fully, the current budget situation; however this could be made up if some of the items were carried into next year. Reserves would need to be used this year for insufficient funds; however, funds would be replaced to attain a $2.2 million reserve, 4% of the 10% goal, by the end of fiscal year 2010-2011. As was always the case in forecasting and budgeting, Mr. Nordhoff believed the best data and information available to date was used in terms of projecting revenues and costs; however, unknowns remained. The state had a deficit of many billions of dollars which put the City at risk, and, while he did not see anything currently in the Governor's budget, the outcome was uncertain. Confirmation on City pension retirement rates would not be available until actuaries had completed their work at the Marin County Retirement Association, probably in March. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 4 Mr. Nordhoff believed staff had done a good job of looking at fees with respect to development, noting San Rafael was busier than many neighboring jurisdictions; Mr. Brown and his staff would continue to monitor this situation. Staff had done their best trying to evaluate the intricacies of major tax revenues, i.e., sales tax, property tax, franchise and hotel taxes, and put best estimates forward for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. Mr. Nordhoff stated that with this evening's action the City Council would have substantially resolved the deficit in fiscal year 2009-2010 and by extending these items into fiscal year 2010-2011, had taken an enormous step to close a substantial deficit putting the City on track to a balanced budget. The City Council would have an opportunity in the spring to consider actions to date. No doubt there would be changes; however, ample opportunity would be afforded to re -look at certain issues. Mr. Nordhoff noted staff was working on other issues including a strategic plan for the library; therefore, there would be further opportunities in April, May and June to evaluate actions taken and consider other issues. With regard to projections, Councilmember Connolly noted that the City was essentially facing some painful choices -- employees recognized this in terms of what they were being requested to do — and he inquired to what extent the City could give assurances that in making these choices now this action was solving a problem and could be a solution projecting out two — three years. Mr. Nordhoff stated that a few years ago he probably would have had a higher degree of confidence or assurance the further he looked out at the financial situation; however, he had less of that today. This was not unique to current situations, rather a lot of uncertainty existed around the housing market, financial crises, commercial lending, unemployment, etc. Mr. Nordhoff reported that from a General Fund perspective, property and sales taxes are approximately 60% - 70% of total revenues. Outside consulting experts carry out audits, evaluate and use their best estimates and gather economic forecast data, etc., to try to sharpen projections. He indicated that parcel levels in the case of property tax, or retailers in the case of sales tax, could be evaluated in terms of trends, and this could be done by a business, property owner or category. Mr. Nordhoff believed that a very thorough job had been done of projecting results for this year and where revenues could be captured in 2010-2011. Staff was not projecting any growth in terms of major tax revenues next year. Noting approximately $40 million in revenues for the current year, Mr. Nordhoff reported that as recently as two years ago this was $48 million; therefore $8 million of the $48 million tax revenue in various categories had been lost, which he did not see changing going forward. Staff was in close contact with the County Assessor regarding property taxes, and discussions take place with the business community and their leadership with regard to hiring, employment, leasing of office space, etc. Councilmember Connolly inquired as to assumptions or projections subsequent to next year. Indicating that staff had not focused much beyond next year, Mr. Nordhoff stated that no recovery was being built in, nor was any substantial slippage anticipated; however, a lot depended on state actions. Regarding reserves, should the City Council adopt the recommendations regarding some of the cuts, Councilmember Connolly inquired as to the impact on reserves. Mr. Nordhoff stated that taking the actions before the City Council this evening would raise reserves between now and the end of June 2011 from last June's level of $1.7 million to roughly $2.2 million — a 1 % increase. He explained that each 1 % of the General Fund was approximately $500,000 of reserves. This would be a 4% level when measured against the General Fund budget and 10% reserves policy. Dave Hulbert, Shop and Equipment Supervisor, Public Works Department, noting a Garage employee was to be laid off, reported that last year over 1,100 work orders were processed by the garage with over 100 repair requests from the Police Department alone; therefore this service employee was vital. Mr. Hulbert explained that this employee took care of urgent requests and reducing garage staff would reduce the service the garage could provide. He noted that without garage staff police would not be patrolling streets, parking enforcement would not be writing tickets and building inspectors would not be carrying out inspections. Noting he and his staff work behind the scenes, Mr. Hulbert commented that perhaps other City employees did not realize what went into maintaining the City fleet and being reduced to two employees would be a struggle. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 5 As a 25 -year employee Mr. Hulbert indicated he was aware of the services expected and those provided and together with lobbying for the employee in question, he wanted to preserve the level of service currently provided, noting how difficult it would be to preserve the current level of service with just himself and two employees. Should this layoff occur, a reduction in service could be expected, and while he was not suggesting the City Council look at other areas for reductions, he believed this employee was vital because if City employees did not have vehicles they could not work. Caron Parker, Associate Planner, Community Development Department, thanked the Council for their effort in considering every department's contribution to the wellness of the City of San Rafael. Having asked her two children tonight what part of the City they thought was most important, their answer was the Library. Ms. Parker commented that she appreciated hearing what other departments did and the parts employees played, as they all were important. Ms. Parker urged the City Council to continue to consider the City as a whole, not as a conglomerate of competing parts. Rather than focusing on predicting crime and chaos due to losing Police Department positions, she believed the focus should be on how to better look after each other during this period of uncertainty. Referring to Exhibit D, she was pleased to see that a lot of businesses were ready to go. She believed the City would be fine if employees remained positive, stayed focused and worked together. Terri Hardestv, Assistant to the City Manager, stated she understood the City Council's difficult job, noting they were caring people who understood with the decline in revenue, the importance of being accountable and to balance the budget. She believed they also were aware that creative solutions were needed to solve the budget crisis. Unlike Sacramento, she stated it was nice to see that cities were standing accountable for their own budgets. Understanding the need to cut the budget, Ms. Hardesty commented that those laid off were joining the ranks of the unemployed during the worst recession since the Great Depression. Ms. Hardesty stated that during her two and a half years with the City of San Rafael she could honestly state that the City had some skilled and talented employees who cared about the community and saw beyond their own self interests, especially during these tough economic times. On commencing employment with the City Ms. Hardesty stated she indicated to the Marin Independent Journal that she was really excited to be working for city government and believed her contribution would be to help City Hall communicate its message to the public. She urged the City Council to communicate with the public in a non -bureaucratic and approachable way, to be relevant in their lives. Going forward she suggested consideration be given to the type of organization San Rafael should be. David Maver, San Rafael, -thanked Mr. Nordhoff for his presentation at the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods meeting last week. Noting Mr. Nordhoff's swift response to his inquiry regarding the cost of Councilmember benefits, Mr. Mayer stated that, when running for City Council last year he estimated this to be $90,000 - $100,000; however, the actual amount was $86,000. He requested that the City Council relinquish these benefits and use the funds for either reserves or to preserve fire and police protection in the community. Regarding an employee being laid off in the garage, Mr. Mayer believed this was an opportunity to be creative and outsource these types of positions. San Rafael had a lot of qualified mechanics who could carry out the work at perhaps a lower rate. Referring to Exhibit B — Authorized Positions going back to fiscal year 2007-2008, Mr. Mayer noted a reduction of ten in fire, fifteen in police with no cuts to the five employees in Economic Development, and he inquired as to how the City would attract business with less police, less fire and higher insurance costs. Mr. Mayer suggested the elimination of Economic Development, noting the amount of vacant storefronts after two years, and a further reduction of positions in Community Development. Mr. Mayer believed that public safety was number one and parks and the library should not be cut. Community Services had 62 employees who were not on the streets. He reiterated that public safety should be first and that as much as possible should be outsourced. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 6 Mark Rilev, Equipment Service Attendant, Public Works Department, believed it was a bad idea to outsource equipment to other shops. He thanked Mr. Hulbert for speaking up for him. Sandv Miller, San Rafael, indicated she had not been awakened in a long time by street sweeping and noting sweeping was carried out four days a week in the Canal area, she inquired whether this was every street and why so often. With respect to street sweeping, Mr. Nordhoff explained that the leaf season necessitated a lot of hand and equipment work and referring to Schedule 1 in terms of reducing the vacant sweeper operator position, he indicated that none of that work was at risk, as evidenced by the recent storms where preventative work needed to be carried out. Mr. Nordhoff believed the question related to the non -leaf season. He explained that outreach was carried out in several areas of the community - downtown, Lincoln Avenue and limited streets in the Canal. The Canal in particular, went back many years to evaluating a situation where a lot of community outreach had been done and where it was found that the community wanted the issues of abandoned vehicles, towing of vehicles and ensuring cars could be moved dealt with. There was restricted posting of several of those streets which allowed the street sweeper through with some regularity. Mr. Nordhoff stated that while sweeping was carried out in this particular neighborhood, historically some level of preventative sweeping was carried out across the City regardless of whether or not there was a desire to address litter or abandoned vehicles, etc. It was proposed to pare this back across all segments resulting in a downsizing of service in the downtown, the neighborhoods and the Canal. John Jenkel, Graton, quoting from an article on the Internet stated: "Taxpayers in San Rafael, California, would pay $189.7 million for total defense spending in fiscal year 2010"; and he did not believe anyone present wanted to spend that money. He stated this equated to $511,000 daily that was disappearing from the community for optional conflicts and unconstitutional wars which Councilmembers took oaths to prevent. Mr. Jenkel requested that the City of San Rafael petition the United States Government to stop the squander of public resources. Colleen Fernald, Sebastopol, stated she had the utmost compassion as she had been watching local governments for the past seven years making similar difficult choices and noted that the small amount of stimulus funding would be insufficient to solve long-term problems. She expressed concern regarding employee retirement and health-care benefits, parks and libraries because less produced more crime, She hoped everyone would work as a team in California to change the dynamics. Regarding federal moneys, Mr. Nordhoff clarified that no money is sent to Washington from the City. Thirty or forty years ago the federal government sent a lot back to local government; however, that was diminished. He indicated there were occasions where the City received federal block grant moneys that had been used for ADA curb ramp improvements and other projects throughout the City. Federal Stimulus funds had been received for street paving, restarting the police academy and an energy efficiency block grant. While these were worthwhile endeavors, they were not dollars that could supplant or pay for ongoing operations. Although grateful for these and what they could accomplish, they were not part of the equation this evening. Mayor Boro commented that there had already been 5 meetings this month on the budget and many before that, together with many discussions regarding the different departments — Library, Police, Fire, Public Works, Planning, etc. and a lot of interaction with Department Directors. Mayor Boro invited Chief of Police Matt Odetto to address the City Council with respect to his department and his ability to run the department. Chief Odetto reported that, when he began working with the San Rafael Police Department, there was a complement of 105 employees. He reported that the Police Department averages approximately 40,000 calls annually, of which approximately 9,000 requires investigation. Dropping to 90 employees, the question was whether the department could adequately cover the services needed. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 7 As the Chief of Police, Chief Odetto stated his primary duty and obligation was to ensure that the basic law enforcement tools were available. This also meant protecting the community and having officers in all beats responding to emergencies. Chief Odetto explained that since December, 2009, staff had been evaluating some of the services to be cut and whether the department could act efficiently as a result. He stated that officers would remain on the streets, manning a six -beat minimum; however, there could be situations where overtime or a change in minimum beat staffing would be necessary. Chief Odetto stated the department would still have components of an Investigations Unit, although it would be greatly reduced and foot beat officers would remain, as they were paid from Parking Services. The Directed Patrol Unit, which handles narcotics and vice, would still have a small number of officers; however, two people in such a unit did not work very well and would need to be augmented either from existing staffing from patrol, investigations or outside agencies. Additionally, the complement of motorcycles would be reduced because with employees being laid off, beats still had to be manned, thus curtailing traffic enforcement. Noting the number one priority as identified through the Godbe studies, was traffic and traffic congestion, Chief Odetto stated this was also a revenue generator. Noting the loss of the Mental Health Officer, Chief Odetto indicated that this officer would be either on foot patrol or bicycle downtown so that those perishable skills could be utilized in dealing with the mentally ill and homeless. He noted the great job this officer does in getting people the proper help through Marin County Community Mental Health and other agencies. Indicating the loss of the only bilingual call taker in the Police Department would be huge, Chief Odetto stated that those calls would have to go to translation services, which would take time in identifying the issue and acting accordingly. Chief Odetto reported that the demand for service at the front office was insurmountable and with the reduction in records staff, needed service could not be maintained. That meant a change of hours, and to this end staff discussed changing the hours to Monday — Friday 9:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. and closed on weekends. This would result in less coverage to the public and burdening the dispatch with incoming calls, both emergency and non -emergency. 9-1-1 calls would take precedence; however, there were times when calls came in over the non -emergency line that would have to be put on delay. Recalling discussions earlier in the year regarding service cuts and the public's expectation, Chief Odetto explained that misdemeanor crimes with no suspect would be dealt with by phone or the Internet, as it would not be possible to send the officers out. In looking at whether the Police Department could function with 90 employees, Chief of Police Odetto indicated that it could be done; however, not as effectively. San Rafael had the tradition of being a proactive and effective Police Department, better than he had ever seen. He was proud of the way employees had handled themselves with regard to identifying the issues within the organization and stated that the proposed cuts would hamper the department severely. As the Chief of Police he wanted the City Council to be aware of his concerns and the priority set in serving the community. While acknowledging economic downturns and lack of funds, Chief Odetto indicated he believed public safety needed to be the priority. Regarding public input, Councilmember Brockbank thanked everyone who had participated, whether by attending the meetings, handwriting or emailing comments, calling, etc. Addressing concern expressed that Council's minds had already been made up, Councilmember Brockbank stated there were numerous occasions when Councilmembers changed their minds because of public input and he issued an assurance that Councilmembers read all comments very thoroughly. Clarifying between different types of input, he believed this evening was a model and high point of democracy of which all should be proud. He stated that the City Council takes great pride in the good reputation San Rafael has for City governance, public participation and civil and collegial behavior. There were differences of opinion amongst Councilmembers and amongst the public -- many stated that police could not be cut or public safety threatened, while others were not in favor of slashing the library and leaving public safety untouched; however, he believed everyone was correct. Believing every single cut was painful, Councilmember Brockbank noted Mayor Boro stated on several occasions that there was nothing more important than public safety. Mr. Nordhoff had pointed out that SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 8 over the decades a balance had evolved between the various departments. Councilmember Brockbank commented that even in the last few years of dramatic downsizing (over 10% of positions), the balance on the pie chart between the various departments was not much different. He expressed thanks to the public for their input and issued a reassurance that the City Council takes its job very seriously. It was a painful process; however, he believed everyone would get through it. Councilmember Connolly commented that at the beginning of the process in November, 2009, the City Council was aware of facing very painful choices on top of those already faced last fiscal year. At the beginning of the process the City Council committed to an approach to get as much information as possible from as many different sources as possible. They went out to the community, listened to constituents through a number of Town Hall meetings, received emails, letters, phones calls, faxes, they reached out to employee groups and heard from individual employees, and received a sense of the need to study the details and assess priorities as a City. Given the difficulty, they were committed to turning it into an opportunity to evaluate the situation and make informed decisions. Commenting on what he had learned, Councilmember Connolly stated that the process gave him a level of detailed understanding of the budget process he had not had. More importantly, he observed the human dimension -- what the stellar men and women of the City do every day — which he believed he now understood and expressed thanks for. Outlining some initial steps taken, Councilmember Connolly stated it was decided not to fill certain vacancies and other relatively easy actions were taken ahead of the painful decisions anticipated. The City Council was profoundly aware of the effect these decisions would have on the organization and colleagues involved. Indicating that these decisions were not made lightly, he concurred with his Council colleagues that levels of service and the impacts had been carefully evaluated. They had attempted to target cuts to services in a balanced way across priority areas and believed public safety to be the top priority, as did many of the public. Councilmember Connolly stated that the City had many important functions, such as striving to maintain library hours, maintaining City streets and parks, and he concluded that solutions could be found. He noted discussions and negotiations were taking place where it could be possible to minimize job losses and the impacts to service, mitigating those effects through the negotiation process. Councilmember Connolly stated that the City Council was committed to doing everything it could to do right by City employees going forward. He was committed to focusing on economic development for the remainder of his term. The spending side of the equation had been addressed; however, as policy makers, the City Council needed to figure out the revenue side. Reiterating that this had not been an easy process, Councilmember Connolly indicated he remained hopeful that everyone could get through this together. Indicating that no one should feel sorry for the City Council who had to decide the issue, Councilmember Levine stated the real pain would be felt by those impacted by this evening's decision, their families, communities, and also residents who would realize a loss in services they would otherwise enjoy. With regard to the process the City Council had been a part of, he reported that during his first two months as a Councilmember while debating the feedback and priorities of the community and the budget process, he appreciated participating with Councilmembers and also with the entire community who had been a part of the process and attended the Town Hall meetings. He appreciated those who reached out and wanted to talk to him on a personal level about the impact of decisions on them. Although it could have seemed like an imperfect process, it had led to a solution that left the City with significant skill sets and capabilities, and noting the City Manager's comment of meeting seven times in January, which could appear like a lot, being new, he did not know any better. Councilmember Levine stated he looked forward to hopefully another seven meeting month on the topic of expanding on capacity to fully utilize and benefit from the skill sets of the tremendously talented staff in San Rafael. He noted people were very happy living in San Rafael with the parks, library and sense of safety. As a resident, he invited employees to come to work tomorrow remembering and realizing how much people counted and depended on them to continue to make San Rafael as great a place as they had over the years. Expressing gratitude he indicated he and his neighbors loved raising their children in San Rafael. SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 9 Councilmember Levine stated that should it not be possible to do a seven meeting month for good news, he would be ready to do it again as the City Council had to reprioritize into the future. He indicated his commitment to continuing to work with everyone; however, also to reach out again broadly throughout the community to really understand the priorities, whether it be to grow, refine or whatever needed to be done. He was aware staff had reached out, not just through Town Hall meetings, rather also through San Rafael Connects, and even though the book was closing on 2009-2010, in a couple of months the process would be undertaken again for the next fiscal year. With regard to continuing reaching out to the community, Councilmember Levine stated that during last month he had been unable to set up a San Rafael Connects meeting in his neighborhood; however, it was finally going to happen. He suggested that those serving on commissions or the City Council reach out to friends and neighbors and encourage them to get people not otherwise involved in how the City runs to get together and figure out their priorities, needs and interests. Therefore, in making decisions for the City in the next fiscal year that had not been made this evening, input could continue to be gathered, thus ensuring people felt connected to what was taking place in the City and understood how service priorities had changed or shifted. Councilmember Levine thanked his colleagues and all present for being a part of the process. As a Councilmember for seventeen years, Councilmember Heller stated these probably were the most difficult cuts that had to be made in that time, noting the economy had not been nice to anyone in public service. She thanked Mr. Nordhoff for all his hard work, Leslie Loomis, Human Resources Director and Jim Schutz, Assistant City Manager, for everything they had done in the last few months and all the employees, especially those who had stepped forward to help their fellow employees. She felt that had been a very important process and did not want it overlooked. Councilmember Heller indicated she felt comfortable with the City's levels of service in place going forward; however, when possible these would be enhanced rapidly. She stated she was comfortable with the level of service in the Police and Fire Departments, noting the Library was being worked on. She expressed the hope that Public Works would be able to return to normal levels as soon as possible, noting parks and buildings could not be allowed to deteriorate. Councilmember Heller thanked everyone in the audience for attending and appreciated everything the employees do for the City family as well as friends and neighbors. Mayor Boro concurred with Councilmember Heller that it was the toughest budget cycle he had ever been through personally; it was also tough on the City's employees and the community. Commenting that there were a lot of unknowns, he believed that three years ago no one would have anticipated the situation today and no one knew what the situation would be in a year from now. Expressing optimism, he stated that projections were conservative, which hopefully would work. At the beginning of the process, the City Council, through an exercise on rating City services, all agreed that public safety was the number one priority, which was what local government was all about. However, citizens expected and wanted other things in addition to public safety, not at the cost of one versus the other, rather balance was necessary on how the City met the needs of the entire community Mayor Boro commented that at least 100 people had spoken to the City Council in the last five meetings, for which he expressed appreciation. The City Council had listened and tried to understand. Staff put a lot of effort into this evening's actions. Reading from the staff report with regard to police he quoted: "We continue to staff six beats for patrol service, operate our Directed Patrol Unit, conduct investigations and have a designated School Resource Officer. Two dedicated downtown foot beat officers remain intact due to the funding coming from Parking Services. Police personnel will handle all emergency calls and respond more slowly to non -emergency interactions via telephone or in person. Police no longer have designated, full-time staff to address homeless needs, open space patrolling, police staff training, recruitment and regulatory oversight. Day-to-day staffing of ninety positions will require discretionary decisions made by the Chief and his command staff to make sure beats are staffed and emergency call taking handled." Mayor Boro stated he believed and had confidence in Chief Odetto that that would happen. He was aware it was difficult for him, all members of the Police Department and all in attendance this evening, and reiterating Councilmember Levine's remarks not to worry about the City Council having to make decisions, he stated the real problem was what staff had to face, especially those to be laid off, as they would suffer as a result of the economy. He believed the City had done everything possible to be SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010 Page 10 efficient, to reduce services and avoid layoffs; however, the point had been reached of having to do something to that end. Mayor Boro expressed the hope that the public safety departments would continue over the next several days to work with negotiators, Leslie Loomis and Jim Schutz, to see whether there were some concessions or agreements that could save some jobs. There was nothing the City Council could do at this point to save jobs and balance the budget based on current information. Mayor Boro stated it was a very sad note to end on. All Councilmembers were very troubled by the situation; however, they had a duty to perform, which they would do. Expressing thanks to everyone in attendance he believed he knew most on a first name basis and everyone by sight. Commenting that police ceremonies take place in the Council Chambers to swear in new officers, Mayor Boro believed this was the best police department in Marin County. He believed the same was true of Fire, Public Works, Planning, Library, etc., noting he receives comments from all over Marin County on how marvelous San Rafael employees were to deal with compared with other cities. The library, although an old building, provides wonderful service and was a great place to go. Mayor Boro stated that everything San Rafael does as a city was highly regarded and well received in the community. He commented that he campaigned once on the motto that: "San Rafael is a proud City," which he believed it was. Indicating he was proud of everyone Mayor Boro stated San Rafael would continue to be a proud city and things would get better. Councilmember Heller moved and Councilmember Levine seconded, to adopt the resolution RESOLUTION NO. 12908 — RESOLUTION ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010, INCLUDING STAFFING REDUCTIONS THROUGH LAYOFFS AND THE ELIMINATION OF VACANT POSITIONS TO BALANCE THE FISCAL YEAR 2009-2010 BUDGET, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO IMPLEMENT SAID STAFFING REDUCTIONS AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Brockbank, Connolly, Heller, Levine & Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None There being no further business, Mayor Boro adjourned the Special City Council meeting at 8:38 PM. ESTHER C. BEIRNE , CITY CLERK APPROVED THIS DAY OF 2010 MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL SRCC MINUTES (Special) 01/26/2010