HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/27/2000 Work Session
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. MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2000.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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The Meeting was adjourned at 7:36 p.m.
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Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs
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Kim Krebs, ~
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