HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/06/1993 Work Session
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'City of Springfield
Work Session Council Meeting
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY DECEMBER 6, 1993
The City of Springfield Council met in the Springfield City Hall, Meeting
Room 2, 225 N. Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, December 6, 1993,
at 6:02 p.m.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Maine, Shaver, Walters, Burge and
Schanz and Beyer. Also present were City Manager, Mike Kelly, Assistant City
Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Eileen Stein, City Attorney Tim Harold and
members of staff.
1. Sprinqfield Tomorrow Phase III Update
City Manager Mike Kelly gave the staff report. Mr. Kelly provided the
background of the Springfield Tomorrow Phase III process, reminding the
Council of their approval of five broad parameters, or goals, in August.
He reported that staff has developed a number of proposals for Council
consideration that will meeting the number one goal of erasing the General
Fund deficit within the next three years.
Mr. Kelly reviewed the financial status of the General Fund and the five
goals approved by the Council in August. He then provided an overview of
the proposals that were recommended. The proposals totaled $2,488,784 in
cost savings and new revenues. He then asked for specific questions about
the proposals.
Councilor Beyer asked about the state Public Employees Retirement System
(PERS) and discussions about the possibility of an employee pick-up. Mr.
Kelly responded that most likely any pick-up requirement would apply to new
employees only and existing participants would probably be excluded through
a grandfather clause.
Councilor Burge commented on the "non-traditional" proposals. He said that
the role of government is to provide basic services and that government
should not be in the business of expanding services or selling data and
professional services. He mentioned the Housing Inspection Program and the
Geographic Information System.
Councilor Walters said he would be opposed to the Housing Inspection
Program service if it was already provided by the private sector. However,
he said he wouldn't mind if the Geographic Information System (GIS) was
marketed since this informAtion is an asset of the city.
Mr. Kelly commented that the proposed three year budget solution could not
be accomplished without a mix of traditional, and non-traditional methods.
He reported that over the last 3 to 4 years city staff has already been
cutting back the budget in more traditional ways. He said in order to
continue looking for ways to balance the budget, he has encouraged staff to
be more creative in developing solutions, along the lines of those proposed
in the book Reinventinq Government. He commented that is why the solutions
have been labeled "non-traditional".
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City Engineer Al Peroutka explained how the GIS worked and how it could be
marketed. He also explained how the information has been requested and it
could be marketed.
Councilor Shaver said he was pleased that staff was thinking creatively and
understood that certain risks must be taken. He felt the city should be
cautious about stepping over the line and competing with the private
sector, as with the Housing Inspection Program. But he felt many of the
other proposals, such as the GIS, were acceptable.
Councilor Burge commented he too appreciated staff's creativity, but hoped
they were as creative in looking for ways to cut costs as they were in
generating revenue. He was concerned about the public perception of
government being more revenue-motivated in light of Measure 5.
Councilor Beyer asked how the ideas were developed. She mentioned the
sewer and drainage maintenance service for small cities. Public Works
Director Dan Brown commented there is a market. He explained how the city
has been approached in the past with requests by small cities to provide
this service for them.
Councilor Beyer commented about charging for the use of meeting rooms. Mr.
Kelly explained how the city's meeting rooms are in demand because they are
free. Councilor Beyer commented she was comfortable if the city was
recovering it's costs, but city groups were not being charged to use city
buildings.
Councilor Schanz asked if the city was not developing software that could
be marketed. Mr. Kelly explained this was a suggestion that was still
being developed, but due to the complexities, was not ready to be proposed
yet.
Councilor Walters asked about the non-resident library card. He was
concerned the increase in the fee for seniors was not consistent with the
level of increase for the general non-resident card, and that the latter
would be subsidizing the senior fee. He suggested the senior fee be
brought up to the same level as the general fee.
Mayor Morrisette asked if the city will collect interest on un-collected
debt. Mr. Kelly referenced an earlier memo sent to Council via the
Communication Packet that addressed that issue. He summarized the memo's
findings that the city can exercise more authority in collecting bad debt
than could a collection agency and the city can not legally charge interest
for un-collected debt.
Mayor Morrisette reminded the Council of the likelihood the city will lose
the revenue it receives from the state from cigarette and alcohol taxes
during the next session of the Legislature. He estimated this loss of
revenue to be approximately $600,000.
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'1216/93 Work Session Minutes
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Councilor Shaver asked about the proposal to charge for notary services.
Building Official Dave Puent explained how many documents that Development
Services staff alone currently notarize because the city requires a
notarized signature.
Councilor Schanz commented on the proposal to eliminate certified mailing
of letters. He suggested an alternative way to continue this service for a
reduced cost.
Councilor's Shaver and Beyer commented on the proposal to eliminate
customized note pads for staff. They suggested the same could be done for
city stationery.
Councilor Shaver asked about the additional position for the Industrial
Pretreatment Program. Mr. Kelly explained why this new position was
necessary to comply with Department of Environment Quality regulations. He
explained the funding for the position would come from the regional portion
of the sewer user fee. He also commented this would generate an additional
$27,000 to the General Fund from indirect charges.
Mayor Morrisette commented that additional comments on these proposals
could be written or E-mailed to Mike Kelly.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m.
Minutes Recorder - Eileen Stein
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