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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/1997 Work Session . . . .. . City of Springfield Work Session MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1997 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session in Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Monday, January 27, 1997, at 6:05 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Communications Administrator Mike Moskovitz, Accounting Manager Valerie Nardo, Public Works Director Dan Brown, Development Services Director Susan Daluddung, City Engineer Al Peroutka, Traffic Technician Dean Bishop, Traffic Technician Molly Lindbloom, Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss and members of staff. I. 1996 Annual Financial Report and Management Letter Accounting Manager Valerie Nardo presented the staff report and introduced Mr. Neil Erickson from Grant Thornton, the city's independent auditors, who reviewed the June 30, 1996 Comprehensive Annual.Financial Report. Ms. Nardo stated in accordance with Oregon statues and the city's Charter, the city is required to complete an annual audit and financial statement. Mr. Erickson stated the auditors found no material weaknesses in the city's internal financial controls and that they have issued a "clean opinion" on the city's Annual Financial Report. He commented the city received the Government Finance Officers Award (GFOA) for Excellence in Financial Reporting and GFOA's Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation. To achieve both awards by one organization is rare. He stated the city has adequate financial controls in place to prevent any improper use of city resources. Mr. Erickson stated there has been a year's work put into the Annual Financial Report by city Finance Department staff, coordinated by Ms. Nardo. He referred to the Agenda Item Summary, Attachment 2, 1996 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Mr. Erickson provided detailed information regarding the introduction letter on pages 3 - 18. An asterisk needs to occur next to Councilor Burge's name, on roman numeral page 20 as he was re-elected to another four-year term, beginning January 1997. Mr. Erickson reviewed pages 5 and 6, Combined Balance Sheet for All Fund Types, Account Groups and Discretely Presented Component Units. He commented on specific funds and provided information regarding certain fund balances. He then referred to page 13, Notes to General Purpose Financial Statements and discussed assets and long-term debt. . . . .... .. City of Springfield Work Session - 1/27/97 Page two Mr. Erickson continued his review with pages 106 and 107, the Schedule of Federal Financial Assistance, page 108, the Schedule of Property Tax Transactions - All Funds, page 110 - 112, Schedule of Future Requirements for Retirements of City Issued General Obligation Bonds General Issue and Improvement Issue, page 127 Property Tax Rates - Direct and Overlapping Governments. Councilor Burge asked why (on page 127, Property Tax Rates - Direct and Overlapping Governments), Willamalane Park District's tax rates have not gone down as much over the past 10 years as the city's and school district's have. Staff members present stated they would provide the answer at a later date. Mr. Erickson referred to page 143, Report of the Independent Certified Public Accountants on the City's Compliance and Certain Items Based on an Audit of Financial Statements Performed in Accordance with Federal and Oregon Auditing Standards. Mr. Erickson highlighted the Performance Review document which discussed the audit process and provides suggestions for staff and council review, including: full accrual accounting, service efforts and accomplishments (SEA), and popular reporting practices. Council discussed full accrual accounting in detail. Councilor Shaver asked Ms. Nardo if the city should move (in her opinion) to full accrual accounting. She answered yes, according to her business/financial background, full accrual accounting should be considered as the city defines the requirements of its proposed accounting system. Council suggested additional colors be used on future graphs, such as those shown on page 13. Mr. Erickson closed with statistical information regarding General Governmental Revenues by Source and General Governmental Expenditures by Function. 2. Status of Bicycle/Pedestrian Path Construction Projects Public Works Director Dan Brown introduced the item and provided background information on the two projects council was asked to review: I) the Pioneer Parkway Bike/Pedestrian Path, and 2) the Southwest Connector Bike/Pedestrian Path. City Recorder Eileen Stein referred to a map of Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) projects, which featured existing bikeways. She provided information on both funding and status of project. Over the past nine months, the Pioneer Parkway Bicycle Path project was designed and put out for bid. In late December, the construction bids were received which both exceeded the budgeted estimate for the project. The Southwest Connector project is still in the design phase, but was received by the council on November 4, 1996, as part of the Island Park Master Plan. Ms. Stein explained how the funding for the bid overage on the Pioneer Parkway project, was proposed, and Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) approved, by reprogramming some federal funds from the Southwest Connector project. She stated . . . .~ City of Springfield Work Session - 1/27/97 Page three this is possible because the original project budget for the Southwest Connector project contained estimates for right-of-way acquisition that will no longer be needed with the re-routing of the project. Council discussed factors for the high cost of the Pioneer Parkway project. Councilor Shaver spoke about the Southwest Connector project. He explained there is a missing portion of the sidewalk between the Chamber of Commerce and Willamalane Park and Recreation District. Chamber Executive Director, Dan Egan was present and stated that there is a lot of traffic between Mill Street and the Depot parking lot. Mr. Kelly commented he believed the property is public right-of-way, but that the adjacent property is owned by the Depot Foundation and Willamalane. Councilor Shaver stated the street, whether or not it is a dedicated street, is used that way and it is dangerous. He explained he would like to see the sidewalk extension occur at this time, . if the funding is in place, since the project is occurring in the area anyway. Mr. Brown stated staff would take a look at the issue during design and discussions of the. project. Ms. Stein stated councilwould,be reviewing theLocal Agency Agreements for:;both projects at their regular session meeting. 3. 1997/99 State Legislative Policies City Recorder Eileen stein presented the draft 1997/99 State Legislative Policies to the council. She stated she has met with department representatives, the council's legislative subcommittee, and with the state legislators who represent Springfield. Council made the following comments or changes: To remove the last sentence in paragraph three, on the introduction page, referring to "a static workforce and the gradual erosion in the quality of city services." To restate the last sentence in the first paragraph on Page 3 to read, "The City encourages the Legislature to seek an immediate Supreme Court interpretation of the measure (47)." Council discussed with Mr. Kelly his participation on the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Board of Directors, in deciding whether or not to challenge the legality of Ballot Measure 47. Councilor Burge would like staff to research whether or not Periodic Review will be considered a new mandate or an existing reoccurring mandate under Ballot Measure 47. Council asked to be kept informed of efforts to seek a statewide real estate transfer tax as a substitute revenue source for financing growth. . . . ;. City of Springfield Work Session - 1/27/97 Page four . Ms. Stein reminded council that the LOC newsletter is a good summary of what occurs in the legislature. Councilor Maine stated she currently receives legislative information and would be willing to share it with other council members. She also reminded council of the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee who also monitor decisions made by the legislature. Councilor Shaver asked staff to find out where appeals of Lane Transit District board decisions are filed or heard. He asked for a reply at a future date. Councilor Shaver stated his support for legislation which would either 1) enable city retirement funds to be invested by PERS to produce higher interest earnings, and/or 2) move existing police employees into PERS. He commented any legislation regarding the area of PERS could have a significant impact on existing city services. Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss detailed the importance of PERS legislation. Council asked for updates on any legislation which would allow for the seizure of vehicles of drivers driving with a suspended license. Police Chief Bill DeForrest stated the Police Departmentcould not impound a vehicle for a fee of $ I 5, which is currently proposed in legislation from the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police. Council discussed legislation which would enable the use of bi-Ievel traffic signal control devices on state highways. Council stated their desire to have both Fire and Life Safety (including ambulances) and Police have the ability to use level one, and others, including public transit, to use level two. . Councilor Shaver asked if only council would like to pursue a dedicated indexed increase to the gas tax. After discussion, council agreed that change is needed, but that they would wait to hear what suggestions and legislation are introduced during this session. Council identified two issues in which they supported continuation of existing services. One is the city providing building permits and not "opting" out of the service (which would then be returned to Lane County). The other was to continue support of the Lane County Boundary Commission, and to oppose any legislation which would eliminate the commission. Ms. Stein stated the city is having a hard time meeting the requirements ofHB 3065, which was an attempt to expedite residential development applications where projects are within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and comply with resource protection and development requirements. Council discussed the adopted legislation. Councilor Shaver asked if a zone change would be considered a "taking" under legislation for land use compensation which would require state and local governments to pay compensation to property owners when their property has experienced the loss of any economic value due to governmental regulation. . . . . ...../ '., City of Springfield Work Session - 1/27/97 Page five ) . Ms. Stein stated she would keep council informed of any interpretations of such legislation. By consensus, council agreed to support the 1997/99 State Legislative Policies and asked Ms. Stein to please share the document with Springfield Legislative Representatives and the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee. 4. Ballot Measure 47 Reduction Strategy Mr. Kelly distributed budget workshop notebooks and summarized the agenda for Saturday, February 1. Mr. Kelly stated it will not be a budget approval session with formal motions, but a general meeting to provide direction from the council on how they would like him to prepare the 1997-98 budget. He stated the morning session would consist of staff presentations and the afternoon session would allow council to discuss departments reductions, ask questions and provide suggestions for the upcoming budget preparation process. Mr. Kelly stated staff is looking for guidance on the sample reduction scenarios and that information provided by council will closely resemble what will be presented in the spring to the Budget Committee. . Councilor Burge asked if the city has received information from the Lane County Tax Assessor regarding annexations and what, if any, relief the city will see due to annexations and the revenue they generate. Mr. Kelly stated most issues regarding Ballot Measure 47, including the issue of annexations, will be solved by the State Legislature. By taking a middle-of-the-road approach to cost savings and budget reductions, the city will be able to wait and see how legislative issues are resolved. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8: 15 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins 13#7!/~~ Mayor ATTEST: ~~IL LSU~ Dep City Recorder .