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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/27/2000 Work Session r t, ,... t ,I . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2000. . . The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Monday, November 27, 2000 at 5:31 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg and Simmons. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Kim Krebs, Finance Director Bob Duey, Development Services Director Cynthia Pappas, Public Works Director Dan Brown, and members of staff. Mayor Leiken invited Councilor Elect David Ralston to sit at the table and welcomed his involvement in the discussion. Mayor Leiken said he would be leave the meeting at approximately 6:30 p.m., and would leave Council President Ballew presiding. 1. Review of General Fund Financial Projections Post November 2000 Election. City Manager Mike Kelly was present for the staff report. He began by stating the purpose of this work session was to provide council with information necessary to allow them to then provide the City Manager with a course of action that would enable him to develop guidelines and parameters for the proposed budget to be presented to the Budget Committee this coming spring. He said staff envisions next years budget as the first step towards a five-year horizon of how they want to manage the cities assets and liabilities over the next five years. He further stated the fIrst step of this is to obtain the answer to two primary questions, 1) what actions can the city take at this time to alleviate the instability of the General Fund and provide a stable five-year outlook for the city's General Fund long-range financial projections, and 2) what, if anything, can the city do to address the need for a greater level of service within the community, as identifIed through Springfield Tomorrow and other research, with the level of resources currently available. He said with Ballot Measure 20-40 being unsuccessful, both the existing and enhanced service levels intended to be addressed by the levy now needs to be reevaluated in preparation for the upcoming budget. Mr. Kelly said he hoped to hear from council ideas regarding what direction they would like the staff to take to help enhance services, while still maintaining the existing budget. Are there any suggestions they might have which may include some policy questions regarding the use of the one time funding. He said that Bancroft funds are currently being utilized to help the general fund. He continued by saying there are some assets that the city currently holds Which could be converted to one-time monies. He said ifthe council suggests right-sizing the city government and making some reductions, what would be the preferred route to take, either to make them slowly over the next few years, or do them all at one time. He said staffhas provided in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS) three proposed generic options for the purpose of council discussion only; he is not looking for a decision at this time. Councilor Ballew stated she hoped each councilor would volunteer their opinion during the discussion process, it was important for them to place their ideas on the table. . Springfield City Council Work Session - November 27,2000 Page - 2 Finance Director Bob Duey referred to the AIS and explained each of the attached items listed. He said the projections listed are based on economic trends, and that staff had prepared the best numbers available. He said these were provided strictly for use in developing parameters, not as a fmancial plan. He further stated that the expenditures are outpacing the revenues, and the growth in expenditures is greater than the revenue income. Mr. Duey said in both February 2000, when the city's Budget Committee met for their mid-year review, and in March of 2000, when the city ftrst began meeting with the Special Citizens Advisory Committee, staff warned that the General Fund would have difficulties sustaining its existing level of services with the current available resources. In May council was presented a budget for the 2000/01 fiscal year that addressed a portion of these difficulties. A five-year local option tax was also developed that, in addition to enhanced services, included resources to help maintain existing services. Mr. Duey said in addition to providing information on the General Fund he included information on the Street Fund and the Emergency Medical Services Fund (EMS). . Mr. Duey provided a highlight of the attachments; he reviewed the General Fund Long Range Projections for Seven Years Beginning FY 1997-98 (Attachment B-6), and highlighted the individual sections of the chart. He said the chart indicates that over the course of the seven years, revenue is increasing approximately 3.19%, with a 3.49% on the overall current revenues. He said the overall chart reflects comparisons from revenues versus expenditures. He expects a drop this year of$191,000. Unless similar actions are taken this next year, we will see similar decreases. He referred to Attachment B-4 and highlighted the Long-Range Projections. Councilor Ballew asked what intergovernmental funds were. She asked if funds from the state will decrease with some of the money measures that have passed, and what the impact to Springfield might be. Mr. Duey said intergovernmental makes up the state money, liquor, cigarette, and State revenue sharing. He said it also reflects the money right now coming from School District 19 for the Dare program in the middle schools, EWEB and SUB. He said it is probably too early to tell what impact the passage of Measure 88 will have on local government. He said hopefully it would be resolved at the state level, without impacting the local governments. He said he would not adjust his figures until he knows definitely what the impact would be. Councilor Lundberg asked what kind of dollars the city loses when funds aren't collected for either fees or taxes. . Mr. Duey said approximately 7% of people do not pay there taxes. He said eventually you collect most of your property taxes, however, they may not be collected in the current year. He said there are a high number of fines that are not collected in the Municipal Court. He said the number has increased in unpaid fines over the years, with little penalty of jail as punishment. He further stated the Municipal Court had selected a collection agency, however the agency was not very successful. They have now selected a new agency and there is hope there will be an increase in the funds collected. He said in the near future the court would begin accepting credit cards for payment of fines. . . ~. ~:,~ Springfield City Council Work Session - November 27, 2000 Page - 3 Councilor Simmons asked for clarification regarding the Fines and Forfeitures. He asked what the split of the fine versus potential forfeiture loss that might occur with Measure 3. Mr. Duey responded the fines are listed fl~t at approximately mid-$650's. He said the forfeitures are printed out at the current level. He said Measure 3 will have a large impact on forfeitures, and council will see this number decrease eventually. At that time it will be necessary to determine what services are being paid from forfeitures that could be eliminated and which services need to remain. It may be necessary to select another resource to fund those identified services. David Ralston asked when the System Development Charge (SDC) Update goes into effect, would that affect any of the funds currently being discussed. Mr. Duey said no. Mr. Kelly said staff was very interested in council discussion, and said if council was able to reach consensus on any of the items that would be helpful. He said the options listed in the handout are generic in nature. He said the more specific council could be the better, and turned the meeting over to Mayor Leiken to lead the discussion. Councilor Hatfield said he was in favor of Option #3. He said it is important to look at the results of the vote of the elections. He said the vote was a decision between bad choices, and bad timing. He said he is inclined to think the battle was with the school district, and thought citizens could not afford both of them. He does not believe the vote should be considered a no to citi~ens wanting additional flTe and police coverage. He said it was important to focus on commercial development as it generates a higher tax base. He also said it is important to look at additional reVenue sources and what restrictions there are on those sources. He talked about the Street Fund and the possibility of a local option gas tax. He said the city has capital assets, however he is not in favor of selling those assets to fund continuing operation. However, he would be in favor of selling these surplus capital assets in order to fund Capital projects that could deliver service in a more reasonable manner. He asked if the city was receiving all of the state funds that it was entitled to receive? He said he was in favor of simplifying some of our processes, and or eliminating some of the regulations. It is important to devote staff time to more important issues, and not so much the lesser issues, once determining what those issues are. He said it may be time to split the Library into it's own district, as long as there is not a sacrifice in the cities tax base. He suggests increasing our fees to 100% recovery on certain development. He said he is not in favor of making reductions in the Library, Police, or Fire Departments. . Councilor Fitch said personal services are the largest percentage, and said staff and council has been working on the Trans Plan issues for approximately 8 years. She said there are certain responsibilities we have as a government agency that must be done, and said it was time to look at these in a realistic manner, and no longer was this an area where staff could commit forever resources and personnel. She said it was important to head into some issues with a set timeline and a set budget. She said if the state wants to mandate and wish it to be an ongoing process, then it was necessary for them to pay for it. She said there are a number of updates that staff continues to bring before council, and wonders if all those updates are necessary. She said it is time to consider service reductions, for example the leaf pick-up program, and asked if this was a valuable use of staff time. Springfield City Council Work Session - November 27,2000 . Page-4 Councilor Lundberg said so much time is taken in the planning phase of issues, that once the outcome is obtained, the problem may have possibly changed. She said it is important to look at financial opportunities through grants or some other creative fmancing. She said the voters did speak clearly in their vote, they do not want to pay more taxes, and suggests we look at all the small items in the budget that can be eliminated that may slowly increase to overall savings. She cautioned using the word "enhance", and said citizens might say if we can enhance our services without the funds requested in Ballot Measure 20-40, they will think we did not need the money to begin with. She also suggested the TEAM Springfield united front approach at the legislative level, and wondered if that process could possibly be streamlined in order to eliminate duplication. Councilor Simmons said he feels the measure was voted down because the citizens were not convinced the services would benefit them. He said is important to work together collectively, in order to find smarter ways to work, this includes council, staff and all employees. Each department will need to determine how to work at a smarter level. He said staff is functioning exceptionally well right now. He cautioned the idea of a Library District, and said the discussion has come up in the past. He asked about the Bancroft funds and when the funds would be exhausted. He said citizens expect the city to perform a competent level of service, however they must learn they have to pay for the services they use. He said it might be necessary to charge extra for "rapid" permits, unless they are state mandated. He cautioned reductions in the Police and Fire Department, because it would cost us all in the long run in insurance rates in the future. . Mayor Leiken said he favors Option #3. He said it is time to spend more time on the high priorities. He agreed about the need to look at all the small services and tasks that staff perform on a daily basis, and wondered if some of those tasks could be eliminated. He said staff needed to brainstorm at the department level to determine what areas they sees eligible for reductions. He said it is now time for Management Team, managers, employees, and council to have these discussions in order to determine what needs to be eliminated or changed in some way. Councilor elect David Ralston said he thinks citizens believe we have money available, and are expecting services. He said enhancing services at this time would not be wise. He said it was important to identify the low priority services, and consider eliminating them. It may be time to look at current vacant positions throughout the city and evaluate the need to eliminate them permanently. He said he was not in favor of selling city assets, and said he is in favor of looking at the possibility of splitting the library into is own District. r. {,~ Councilor Ballew recognized that each and every member of the council saw the need to make some changes. However, she caution enhancement of services prior to identifying what funding was available. She said she has some concerns about splitting the Library into it's own District. She said it is important to provide a level of service that is acceptable across the board. She is not in favor of "beefing up" the Police department just because they on are the streets. She said staff may be able to determine some areas that could be reduced that council may not even be aware of. She said there are so many services the city provides that may not be well supported, however most are necessary services. She said it might be time to consider a Charter review because some items and fees need to be updated. She said it is important that we have 100% fee recovery, and asked how Springfield compared with other jurisdictions. She said the courage is needed as a council to accept there may be a need to either continue or cut some existing services. She concluded by saying it would be important to prioritize and focus on the higher priority items, not to expand, but to improve. . Springfield City Council Work Session - November 27, 2000 . Page- S Mr. Kelly said all of these issues are very delicate. He thanked council for their input and said their ideas would be taken and placed into the budget process. For clarification purposes he confirmed that council suggested 1) looking at smart reductions; 2) they are not against one time revenue creating if it presents an opportunity to stabilize; and 3) explore new revenue sources. Mayor Leiken left the meeting at 7:00 p.m. 2. System Development Charge (SDC) Update. Management Analyst Eileen Stein and City Engineer Al Peroutka were present for the staff report. Ms Stein stated this was a continued discussion of the SDC Advisory Committee's recommendations regarding the 2000 SDC update. She recapped the issue of the ADT methodology versus the PM peak methodology, the downtown incentives, and whether to extend the financing program to commercial properties or just residential. There was discussion regarding these three issues. Council consensus was 50% discount for 3 years for new businesses, 100% exemption for 1 year for current business expansion of hours only; continue existing policy of offer of Bancroft on residetltial only; and the ADT methodology for the transportation SDC. ADJOURNMENT . The Meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m. .. Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs ~ Kim Krebs, ~ /. \~